I call heaven and earth to record this day against
you
Either, literally understood, the heavens above him, and the
earth on which he stood, those inanimate bodies, which are
frequently called upon as witnesses to matters of moment and
importance; see ( Deuteronomy
4:26 ) ( 32:1 ) (
Isaiah 1:2 ) ;
or figuratively, the inhabitants of both, angels and men:
[that] I have set before you life and death, blessing and
cursing;
had plainly told them in express words what would be the
consequence of obedience and disobedience to the law of God; long
life, and the blessings of it in the land of Canaan, to those
that obey it; death, by various means, and dreadful curses, to
those that disobey it; of which see at large ( Deuteronomy
28:16-68 ) ;
therefore choose life, that thou and thy seed may
live;
that is, prefer obedience to the law, and choose to perform that,
the consequence of which is life; that they and their posterity
might live comfortably and happily, quietly and safely, and
constantly, even to the latest ages, in the land of Canaan.